Within Cole Matthews lies anger, rage, and hate. Cole has been stealing and fighting for years. This time he caught Peter Driscal in the parking lot and smashed his head against the sidewalk. Now, Peter may have permanent brain damage - and Cole is in the biggest trouble of his life. He receives a one-year banishment to a remote Alaskan island. There, Cole is mauled by a mysterious white bear of Native American legend. But it is the attack of the Spirit Bear that may save his soul.

Your Likes make Audible better!

Publisher's Summary

Within Cole Matthews lies anger, rage, and hate. Cole has been stealing and fighting for years. This time he caught Peter Driscal in the parking lot and smashed his head against the sidewalk. Now, Peter may have permanent brain damage - and Cole is in the biggest trouble of his life.

Cole receives a one-year banishment to a remote Alaskan island. There, he is mauled by a mysterious white bear of Native American legend. Hideously injured, Cole waits for death. His thoughts shift from anger to humility. To survive, he must stop blaming others and take responsibility for his life. Rescuers arrive to save Cole's body, but it is the attack of the Spirit Bear that may save his soul.

This is a young adult book that I read with my class, however, I have listened to it several times on my own. It is appealing to all ages, especially if you are curious about bullys and juvenile delinquents and why they act the way they do. It is touching and spiritual on many levels. It helps us to understand why children act out, what makes them appear to be so angry, and what experiences might change them. I highly recommend this book for pre-teens/teens and adults alike.

This book was introduced to me by a teen patient in my pediatrics office as mandatory reading in his high school English class and the concept of tribal justice dispatching a teen to an island to fend for himself was fascinating. But I could not put it down. It is a story of redemption at a gut wrenching level of self discovery.

I am reading this book because my school district selected this book for the six grade low level students. My students are listening and reading the book daily. I enjoy watching them read and write about what they heard during our (silent) reading time. The book is fast moving and many of my students were able to connect some of the issues presented in the book with their lives. We are still reading the book and when they complete the book , the students write a review of the book.

The story moved and held my interest. The narrator really captures Mikaelsen's storyline. I am going to check out other novel's read by Lee Tergesen. This is the second book of Mikaelsen's I have thoroughly enjoyed.

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.